§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish figures showing, region by region, the average cost per unit of housing acquired by local authorities under the municipalisation programme, the average cost of improvements required, and the average cost per unit of new local authority housing.
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§ Mr. ArmstrongFollowing are average costs calculated from returns received from English local authorities:
Region Acquisition: average cost per dwelling in 1974–75 New dwellings, tenders approved in 1974, average cost* per dwelling (provisional) £ £ Northern 2,100 6,300 Yorkshire and Humberside 3,600 5,900 East Midlands 5,500 6,100 East Anglia 7,200 6,500 Greater London 7,800 10,400† Rest of South-East 8,700 6,600 South-West 8,200 6,000 West Midlands 6,500 6,900 North-West 3,800 6,200 * Excludes land, site work, ancillary buildings and fees. † Excluding GLC. Comparison of regional averages may be misleading as the types of dwellings and, in the case of those acquired, their quality varies from area to area.
Costs of land, site work, ancillary buildings and fees are not estimated for the regions in respect of costs of new dwellings, but the overall average for England is likely to be about £4,000. Data are not available in the form requested on the improvements required to the acquired housing, but the local authority returns showing their future plans for renovation investment indicate a very wide range of proposed costs depending upon the condition of the acquired dwelling rather than upon location.